Learning From the Experts - Intereum Visits Maars HQ in the Netherlands!

A month after returning from Maars’ headquarters outside of Amsterdam, I’m fully recovered from my stroopwaffel and too-many-lattes hangover, but am left with the energy and passion about Maars that the visit instilled in me. In June it was announced that Herman Miller and a group of dealer investors (including Intereum!) acquired Maars, and in November seven out of the ten dealer investors had the opportunity to travel to their headquarters to learn more about the company, meet the team working on our projects behind the scenes, tour the manufacturing facility, and see what new products they are working on. The two biggest takeaways from my time at Maars were their commitment to acoustics, and their constant innovation and ability to quickly develop solutions for unique customer needs.

Commitment to Acoustics: The fundamental priority of every product Maars designs is acoustical performance. In discussing new product ideas with the head of Maars’ R&D department, the initial response to many of the ideas our team threw at her was something along the lines of “I wonder how we could achieve the functionality/aesthetic you are asking for while also enhancing the acoustic performance for the users?” Acoustic performance is ingrained in Maars’ DNA and is simply a part of who they are as a company. Maybe that’s why they have over one hundred 3rd party acoustical testing reports – more than any other engineered solution wall manufacturer - and do even more testing in house.

Constant Innovation: Maars has a robust in-house R&D department filled with talented designers, architects, and engineers who are constantly innovating: surveying dealers and customers to find out what they are needing; staying on top of industry trends which is no small feat when you span 6 continents, each with different trends; and responding to custom requests for specific projects. They are currently working on a few exciting new launches, some as seemingly simple as a new smaller profile acoustical door, and one large project with the daunting task of making steel walls sexy. More to come on those two products in the coming months!

All that to say, there’s lots happening behind the scenes at Maars and I’m looking forward to kicking off 2019 with some new product introductions, great momentum across the country as more Herman Miller dealers start bringing Maars on board, and exciting projects for our clients installing here in the Twin Cities!

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